6 Mistakes You Could Make While Traveling For The First Time

By Madison White on May 10, 2016

You’ve made the decision to travel for the first time — congrats! You’ve made a huge step in one of the best life experiences you’ll have. But now what?

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First-time traveling can be daunting if you have no idea what to expect. Truthfully, every trip will be different, but most have a few things in common. From arriving, to staying, to departing, travel will test your limits, but will also make you question what took you so long to start traveling in the first place. You’ll make a few mistakes, but everyone does and it’ll be totally okay, especially since you’ve got this article to help you.

Here are six mistakes you could make as a first-time traveler.

1. Not doing your research

If you’re a seasoned traveler, it may be exciting to go to a place you know virtually nothing about and just see what happens. However, if you’re traveling for the first time, this probably isn’t the best idea. Especially if you’re going somewhere very, very different from your own culture, it’s essential to know about it so you don’t make any major mistakes.

The internet is a great resource; travel blogs and posts are made about almost any place you could want to visit. Take your time reading numerous blogs and blog posts to get a holistic sense of the place. Also, if you’re really keen, try getting a travel guide book dedicated to your region, country, or city.

2. Knowing phases

This may be irrelevant for some places, but most places will have some sort of native language barrier. While it may not be possible to learn the entire language, memorize some basic phrases that can be asked if lost or in trouble, even basic everyday use. The locals will definitely appreciate your attempts at trying to learn their language more than blatantly expecting them to know yours. Don’t be worried about your accent, just go for it and laugh it off if it doesn’t come out perfectly.

3. Looking like a tourist

Some countries are notorious for pickpockets, but most of the con artists will single out tourists. When traveling abroad, wearing very obviously touristy clothes will make you a target for scams. This can end up costing you tons of money. In most other countries and cities, few people wear t-shirts, large backpacks, and workout attire when walking around town.

Try and keep your wardrobe sleek, chic and comfortable without signaling your tourist status. Opt for solid colors of simple and classic designs if you can’t match the local style. Also, for women, some Middle Eastern countries require women to cover their heads, so doing your research beforehand will help you know what to wear.

4. Losing important items

The most terrible mistake you could make while traveling abroad is losing your wallet, purse, or even your passport. When traveling, make sure to make and bring duplicate copies of everything important and keep it in a different place than your original ones. Do this for your passport, driver’s license, and write down your card numbers and bank numbers in a hidden location. This way, if anything does go missing, you’ll have backups and know who to call. Also, don’t forget to let your bank know you’re traveling before they shut down your account because of strange foreign charges. You don’t want to be abroad without money access.

5. Overpacking

One of the many mistakes a first time traveler makes is overpacking. Overpacking is very easy to do because you always want to be prepared, however, it can also cost you loads in luggage fees and time in dragging it around. To prevent overpacking, stick to the basic colors and styles, like some dark jeans, a classic shirt and some walking shoes that go with everything. Maybe only bring another pair of shoes if you’re going somewhere fancy. Travel with as little makeup or jewelry as possible and don’t underestimate the power a light (or heavy) scarf can make on spicing up an outfit. Also, one jacket is better than five sweaters.

6. Being closed-minded

You’re not going to know what to expect when traveling for the first time, and in many ways, this is the most exciting and rewarding part! However, usually something will go wrong at least once during a trip. Remember, just because everything isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Laugh at mistakes and know they’ll be great memories for later. Keep your mind open to the sights, sounds, smells, and wonders around you. Take as many pictures as you like whether that be few or many. Don’t let one little attitude problem prevent you from having the time of your life.

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Traveling can be lots of things: exciting, scary and rewarding. One of the most important things to remember is preparation and that while traveling, you can’t ever be prepared for everything.

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